Particulate mixer having paddles of different lengths

Abstract

The particulate mixer is part of a blender that includes a cylindrical drum with a particulate mixing chamber. A rotating shaft is arranged in a horizontal direction in the particulate mixing chamber. Four arms project in a radial direction from the rotating shaft and include four paddles with respective stirring blades spaced from each other in an axial direction on the rotating shaft. The drum has a cylindrical center portion and side portions that communicate with the cylindrical center portion. Each of the side portions has a lower face and a vertical face. The drum is in the form of a truncated cone with the rotating shaft as its axis. The stirring blades have a driving end face and a driven end face with slopes corresponding to the slopes of the lower face of the side portions.

1. A particulate mixer comprising
 a main body that has a cylindrical drum and a particulate mixing chamber; 
 a rotating shaft that is arranged in a horizontal direction in said particulate mixing chamber and is supported on said main body in a rotatable manner; and 
 plural paddles that are arranged in spaced relationship along an axial direction of said rotating shaft in said mixing chamber, each said paddle has a paddle arm extended in a radial direction of said rotating shaft and a stirring blade attached to said paddle arm, wherein 
 said drum has a center portion with at least two of said stirring blades arranged parallel to each other and oriented at a first acute angle relative to the axial direction of said rotating shaft, and a side portion connecting with said center portion, said side portion having at least one of said stirring blades arranged non-parallel to said two stirring blades in the center portion and said at least one stirring blade in the side portion being oriented at a second acute angle relative to the axial direction of said rotating shaft; 
 said side portion has a lower face having a radius decreasing from inside to outside of said axial direction; and 
 said paddles located in said center portion have a greater length in the radial direction than said paddle located in said side portion. 
 
   
   
     2. The particulate mixer of  claim 1 , wherein said stirring blade of the paddle located in said side portion has an end face having a slope corresponding to a slope of said lower face. 
   
   
     3. The particulate mixer of  claim 1 , wherein said at least two stirring blades in said center portion define two parallel planes and said at least one stirring blade in said side portion define a plane intersecting said two parallel planes. 
   
   
     4. A particulate mixer comprising
 a main body that has a cylindrical drum and a particulate mixing chamber; 
 a rotating shaft that is arranged in a horizontal direction in said particulate mixing chamber and is supported on said main body in a rotatable manner; and 
 plural paddles that are arranged in spaced relationship along an axial direction of said rotating shaft in said mixing chamber, each said paddle has a paddle arm extended in a radial direction of said rotating shaft and a stirring blade attached to said paddle arm, wherein 
 said drum has a center portion and opposite side portions connecting with said center portion, the side portions extending in the horizontal direction, said paddles being provided in said center portion and in said opposite side portions; 
 each said side portion has a lower face with a radius, the radius of the lower face decreasing as the distance of the lower face from the center portion increases; 
 said paddles located in said center portion have a greater length in the radial direction than said paddles located in said side portions; 
 said stirring blades include a first stirring blade oriented at a first acute angle relative to the axial direction of said rotating shaft and a second stirring blade oriented at a second acute angle relative to the axial direction of said rotating shaft; 
 the paddle arm of said first stirring blade is attached to said rotating shaft at a first position of the rotating shaft; 
 the paddle arm of said second stirring blade is attached to said rotating shaft at a second position of the rotating shaft; 
 said first position of the paddle arm of the first stirring blade and said second position of the paddle arm of the second stirring blade are located on opposite sides of the rotating shaft beyond the center of said rotating shaft; 
 said first acute angle is set so that said first stirring blade, upon rotation of said horizontal shaft in a first direction, can move the particulate inside said drum toward the center of the drum; and 
 said second acute angle is set so that said second stirring blade, upon rotation of said horizontal shaft in said first direction, can also move the particulate inside said drum toward the center of the drum. 
 
   
   
     5. The particulate mixer of  claim 4 , wherein
 said first acute angle is set so that said first stirring blade moves the particulate inside said drum toward an end portion of one opposite side portion via the center of said drum; and 
 said second acute angle is set so that said second stirring blade moves the particulate inside said drum toward an end portion of the other of said side portions via the center of said drum.